We had breakfast prepared by Mama in the TV room. While it was only Corn Flakes and full cream milk [way better than milk in the states], it was delicious. It must have been due to the love put into preparing the tray. We ate while watching South African news. Watching international news from a perspective that isn’t American is pretty standard, but you still can notice the nuances and opinions… especially if you are watching with a native South African. It was on this day that we found out about Barack Obama clinching the Democratic Nomination. My Mama was pretty happy about it, and it led to a conversation about politics. She asked my opinion about the Bush administration and why I support Obama. Setting my political beliefs aside, the culture here is that you know about politics because everyone has an opinion, especially about American politics. I feel that to have a respected political opinion in daily American conversation, you have to demonstrate that you know your research. Otherwise, you just sound ignorant. In South Africa, if you are American your opinion is automatically respected. It caught me off guard, but it was refreshing to know that my opinion carried some weight here, particularly because I feel that I don’t know anything about politics. [I think it’s our responsibility as American citizens to know about the candidates, and now I can’t say that this thought isn’t congruent with how I have been acting. This is something I hope to change upon arriving in the states].
Class began with a speaker named Zetu; she works at a health clinic associated with the JL Zwane community center. Her perspective was pretty important to understanding how treatment of HIV/AIDS works in poverty-stricken areas in South Africa. The health care system is broken down into three levels with the first level being free of charge. She sees approximately 200 people a day with more than 50 of them having HIV/AIDS related problems. People can get medication to treat the virus for free from the South African government. They’re called antiretroviral (ARV’s) drugs. There are only two strands of the drug available here compared to 50 or so available in the U.S. Now, you might be thinking “If you can get drugs for free, then why is there such a problem with the virus spreading.” Well, an answer to this problem is due to the social problems and stigmas surrounded by the virus. Some people don’t want others to know that they could have the virus, so they don’t get tested even though they can do so for free. Zetu said that others can’t face the fact that they are HIV positive and don’t get ARV’s until it is too late. Children in their early teens or even younger are having sex. And since the virus is so widely spread, it’s bound to keep going. My first thought was: “How on earth are children learning how to have sex at that age?” Seriously. But then, the blunt truth comes out; parents in townships live with their children in such cramped quarters that their children are bound to see something and become curious. It’s just the blunt truth. We’ve also been told that sex is exchanged for homework assignments. Don’t believe it? I didn’t either, but we’d better. Something has to be contributing to the fact that 1 in 5 people are infected with HIV/AIDS. Our service project involved working with Pricilla and her children. In total, there are eleven children staying with her in small, cramped quarters. We helped make sandwiches (lettuce, bread, meat, mayonnaise, butter, and cheese) for the children as they came home from school and gave them new toys so they could play. The house was chaos but in a good way. To see the joy that we brought by just giving them sandwiches (and chips, drinks, apples, and candy) was simply priceless. And all children love toys; they were so grateful for everything we brought them. To think that on an average day, Pricilla doesn’t know how she is going to feed them. When does she get a day to herself? Probably never. Even in the face of this poverty, the warmth of love is still felt. Ironic. We did some good today.
We went back to the Rainbow program at the community center. I worked with the kids I have been working with and had the chance to talk to them about their dreams. There is a similarity between kids in America and South Africa; they dream big. These girls wanted to do great things like become nurses, accountants, or pilots. They are good students. My only hope is that they can stick to doing well in school so they can stay away from all the external forces that would cause their dreams to fail, even if they did well in school. I hate to think that this might not happen for them, but in reality it just may be the case.
Our night involved another big dinner with all of the students and their host families. The night was wonderfully fun. Good food + good company + good music = a fun night of dancing in Gugulethu. Remember how I was worried about being cold? Not tonight. All of the dancing made everyone really hot, and it was worth it. Seriously, if someone could bottle all the love in that house and use it for electric power… the entire world would be illuminated for days. I only hope that I can bring it back to my life in the states to share with my family and friends. We gave our host parents gifts from our lives in the states. Nichole brought wild rice and a University of Minnesota T-Shirt, and I brought a UMTC mug and a Statue of Liberty mug. They were so unbelievably ecstatic about the gifts. Zukile even mentioned that he would wear it to work on Friday so he could “show it off” to his colleagues. Mama put her mugs on display right away. After a long day, I was asleep by 10:15pm… something I haven’t done since my early years in high school.
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